(WTVR) – Students and faculty at Virginia’s Liberty University are defending their school after being criticized on a national television show.
Comedian Bill Maher is known for pushing the envelope on his HBO show, “Real Time”. But Liberty supporters say he recently went too far when he said “Liberty University<br/>isn’t really a university”.
“I think a diploma from Liberty cheapens my degree from a real school,” joked Maher. “If you want to go to some place that teaches the Bible is literally true, and the earth was created last Tuesday when God got into gardening, that’s fine, but you can’t call it a university. Target serves pizza, [that] doesn’t make it a restaurant.”
The comments seen last Friday on Maher’s HBO show are based on Republican candidate Mitt Romney’s appearance at Liberty for the university’s graduation ceremony earlier this month.<br/>
The comedian sharply criticizes Liberty because the school offers classes that teach the universe is created by God.<br/>
CBS 6’s sister station in Roanoke, WDBJ, spoke with students who aren’t laughing at the comedic act.
“I was surprised at how much he attacked liberty as a whole,” said Liberty University student Jon Keith.
“I think it’s really ridiculous,” says student Charlotte Purdy, “I feel like he’s a jerk and I feel like he kind of used it as a means to promote his personal agenda and he really didn’t have any credible points that he was making.”
Liberty University President Jerry Falwell responded to Maher’s comments. He released a written statement, which reads in part, “Maher is a comedian whose words aren’t meant to be taken seriously”. “Liberty teaches the theory of evolution creation as well as the biblical account of creation (including that the universe could have been created with the appearance of age just as the first man and woman were created as adults) and students make up their own minds on the issue.”
